Newspaper Page Text
The Augusta News-Review September 22,1984
The Black family
Over the past three years, many
people have become aware of the
crisis condition of Black families.
One third of the Black families
in the United States live in poverty;
more than 47 percent of Black
children under 18 live in poverty;
and well over half of the Black
families Jiving in poverty are
headed by women, who are paid
less than men overall.
Conferences, workshops, and
other forums focusing on these
problems have raised the “Black
family issue” to a prominent place
on the national agenda.
Which is not to say that much
has been done about it. Given all
that is known about the plight of
these families, the time has come
to set forth a clear and comprehen
sive agenda for improving the con
dition of Black families.
Clearly, there is a role for
government in resolving the crisis
of the Black family —a role that
no other entity in the society, no
matter how well-intentioned, can
play.
Most fundamentally, the federal
government must create a healthy
economic environment in which
domestic industry can expand to
provide work for all who want it.
For four decades, the U.S.
economy has failed to provide
what Black families need most for
their economic health jobs.
But attempts to resolve the
problems must be as wide-ranging
and varied as the causes of the
problems. This article will concen
trate on initiatives to be under
taken by Black organizations, in
stitutions, and individuals; the
Black community has always been
an important source of help for the
Black family.
A Unified Approach
Black organizations currently
have many initiatives under way.
But so far, there has been no cen
tral coordination of efforts, which
could reduce duplication and
overlap and maximize the return
on investments of time, money,
and energy. Furthermore, there is
no national clearinghouse to
disseminate information on con
cepts that work well in various sec
tions of the country.
What is needed is a national
NEW ORLEANS (NC) - The
Black middle class can help
prevent development of a “per
manent underclass,” in the Black
community, Auxiliary Bishop
John Richard of Baltimore told
500 people at the Black Catholic
Family Conference at Xavier
University.
Bishop Richard, ordained an
auxiliary bishop of Baltimore in
July, said the underclass has
characteristics such as “single
parent households, large families,
teen-age mothers, low income and
lack of educational opportunities.
He was speaking of “Problems
Besetting the Black Family”
during the confernece, sponsored
by the Josephite Society.
Black men bear brunt of fight
by Gus Savage
From birth to death, Black
males face far greater health, social
and economic obstacles than flny
other group ini
American soci-|
ety.
His is the!
inescapable
conclusion rea-|
ched from an]
objective anal-]
ysis of statistics contained in a
National Urban League study
released early in August.
The report, written by James
McGhee, the League’s research
director, stated: “The attrition of
Black males from various causes
from conception through
adulthood finally results in an in
sufficient number...who are
willing and able to provide for
women and children in a family
setting.**
This has resulted, according to
McGhee, to a significant decline in
male-headed Black families—from
74 percent in 1960 to 54 percent in
1981.
The plight of Black males, stems
from a ‘Gauntlet of dangers,” in-
jiio
Action, self-reliance, the vision of self and the future
have been the only means by which the oppressed have
seen and realized the light of hteir own freedom.
program of supporft for Black
families, developed under the
auspices of as many national Black
organizations and institutions as
will lend their energy and support
to the effort.
This group should include Black
churches, colleges, fraternities,
sororities, and political, social,
professional, and civic
organizations. Participating in
these efforts should not interfere;
with the activities for which these
organizations are normally respon
sible.
For such a diverse group to form
an effective coalition, differences
among members must be put aside,
and the coalition must emphasize
collective effort in pursuit of a
common goal improving the
chances of Black families at risk.
The first step in such an under
taking should be the convening of
a leadership meeting by a nonpar
tisan, noncompetitive
organization. Participants in this
initial meeting would determine
the scope of activities to be under
taken and approve a program of
action, the basic design of which
should be setteld before the
gathering.
Specific tasks would be assigned
to the organizations and in-
Middleclass can prevent underclass
The bishop, who completed doc
toral studies in psychiatric social
work at the Catholic University of
America while serving as a pastor
in Washington, said many of the
problems, could be helped by en
couraging stable, nuclear families.
The church and the Black mid
dle class must help provide
reasonable and realistic alter
natives to the ghetto, he said,
suggesting that computers instead
of drugs could be placed in the
hands of Black teen-agers.
“The middle class has to go
back to the ghetto, to the inner
city, and provide the moral thrust
and leadership that once was there.
When the middle class moved out,
a stabilizing influence left Black
cluding untimely deaths from
disease, accidents, suicides and
homicides and the failure to break
discrimination in the job market.
The life expecteancy of Black
males at birth in 1979 was 65.5
years, compared with 70.5 years
for white males, 74.2 years for
Black females and 78.2 years for
white females.
Contributing heavily to the shor
tage of Black men available for the
maintenance of two-parent
families is the high percentage of
Black males in prisions.
In 1978, 38 percent of prisoners
in local jails were Black males; in
the same year, of those prisoners in
state and federal prisons, 45 per
cent were Black males. The Black
male population of the United
States is probably less than 6 per
cent of the total population.
When I think about the horrible
statistics quoted above, 1 am for
ced to conclude that in a very real
sense Black Americans are social,
political and economic prisioners
in the United States of America.
And although Black women suf
fer heavily, the fiercest enemy fire
is directed against the Black male.
Page 2
stitutions represented.
For example, a nationwide
organization of Black women
might be given responsibility for
developing an instructional
program on human sexuality, with
emphasis on the preteen years.
One of the national sororities
could be charged to distribute and
teach the program through its local
chapters across the nation.
Similarly, a national fraternity
might be asked to work closely
with families that include school
age children whose well-being is
threatened by drugs and alcohol.
Special support for young Black
males to counteract the temptation
of drug abuse may be especially
needed in those families with
temale heads.
Little imagination is required to
envision the range of support ac
tivities a local fraternity chapter
could provide to families in need
of help.
And with each national frater
nity assuming responsibility for a
particular area of family life, the
impact of this support could be
hugely beneficial.
The church is deeply rooted in
the Black community; it is a
familiar, local institution that is
available during extended hours
each day. So it seems eminently
neighborhoods,” he said.
At another meeting at Xavier
University before the family con
ference, Auxiliary Bishop Wilton
Gregory of Chicago said Blackness
and Catholicism are very com
patible.
“We must teach, through all our
endeavors, that Blackness and
Catholicism do indeed mix well
togehter,” Bishop Gregory siad.
The meeting, a national con
ference of Black clergy, nuns and
seminarians, included more than
300 participatnts who discussed
their specific roles in the Bvlack
community.
“Leadership in the Black com
munity requires risk-taking
because of the historical mandate
Blacks have as being charged with
The wonder is not that so many of
our young men fall by the wayside,
but that as amny as do survive with
dignity and nobility.
In the midst of this devastation I
remember again the marathon race
of the Rev. Jesse Jackson for the
highest office in the land, and the
wonder this effort evoked in
changing the face of American
politics forever.
When I mourn for the young
Black man dying with dope in his
veins, I also marvel at the spectacle
of a Carl Lewis rushing to foru
Olympic goald medals with such
ease that one is almost forced to
conclude that superman is alive
and well.
When I view with sadness young
Black men deserting their families,
1 also applaud with pride those
tough-minded young Blacks who
are pounding on the door of cor
porate America and refusing to
take less than total entry into these
power worlds.
The aforementioned is a round
about way of proclaiming how
much better things could be, of
pointing out how much the
Marcus Garvey
reasonable to expand its nurturing
from the spiritual to encompass
the earthly needs of Black families.
Churches could be used as
“family resource centers,” not
necessarily delivering family ser
vices directly, but perhaps hiring
familv advocates, professionals
who can assist families in ob
taining needed help from both
public and private agencies.
Black colleges, too, have
traditionally played an important
role in the progress of Blacks and
could serve a variety of functions
in a national Black family support
program.
Different institutions could
assume responsibility for such ac
tivities as planning, data collection
and analysis, running
clearinghouses, and so on. Black
colleges would help provide the in
tellectual energy to keep the effort
focused, creative, and productive.
What the Back Community Can
Do Best
These are only examples and not
an exhaustive list of precise roles
and functions to be performed by
national organizations. The needs
of Black families are extensive,
and Black institutions cannot ad
dress all of those needs. But there
are some things they can do better
than anyone else. Furthermore,
some of this help can be provided
more efficiently and more effec
tively in coalition with other Black
groups.
Regional meetings subsequent ot
the national meeting of the leader
ship group could establish lines of
communication between .regional
and local affiliates, which would
enable the leadership to under
stand issues unique to different
sections of the country. Such un
derstanding would permit fine
tuning of program activities.
We have the know-how to build
a national program of support for
Black families; the challenge now
is to put it to work. Such an effort
will give weight to future demands
that the public and private sectors
come forward with more realistic
support for the country’s Black
families.
As long as so many Black
families remain at risk, the nation
itself is at risk.
the bringing about of social
justice,” Jualynne Dodson of the
Union Theological Seminary said
during the conference.
“As Black ministers you must be
willing to raise critical questions
even when it might mean personal
loss,” she said. “Your personal
salvation is of little value to the
Black community.”
Howard Dodson, sharing the
podium with his wife, added that
“new times require different roles
and responsibilities for all of us.
This is especially true for Black
leaders. Ministers in the Black
community must transcend the
narrow corridor of the concerns of
the Black community and address
the much larger problems of
society as a whole.”
audacity of young Black American
men could contribute to the world
if the stones of obstruction were
just rolled a short distance fromt
he door of opportunity.
Recently, in thinking about the
perils created by Black-led gangs in
our major cities, I was reminded
how gangs declined during those
turbulent years when the Black
Panthers were struggling to make
their programs prominent. At the
very least this indicates that our
young men will not wallow in,
idleness and despair when they
have something positive to com
mand their attention.
The group most depreived must
always make the first move if
progress is to be made.
We must define our own
struggle, select our own priorities,
and get on wit the business of win
ning our liberation.
We must so commit our young
men to imaginative, appealing
programs that they, in spite of
themselves, will not stand still long
enough to be numbered among the
horrible statistics of that National
Urban League report.
Who cares about
Black children ?
by Sherman N. Miller
I recently visited Municipal Court
to testify on behalf of a friend.
While I sat waiting for my friend’s
case to come up, I thought 1 was
going to vomit
from the
dismal show I
saw acted out
on the cour
troom stage.
It disturbed
me when I
found that I
could discern
the stories to
♦ '
be balderdash
long before the judge ruled in these
cases. Some of these incredible
stories were excellent candidates
for the Buffoonery Hall of Shame.
My nausea was exacerbated as I
watched young Blacks parade in
one after another for an assor
tment of crimes. 1 wondered how
many of those young Blacks might
not have been fighting to avoid
prison terns had their parents given
them a few good spankings when
they were little children.
As I watched the young Blacks
plead their cases, I recalled the
rash of home break-ins and small
article thefts that have plagued my
own neighborhood. I was haunted
by the thought, “Who is to blame
for the destruction of the Black
community’s future here in this
courtroom today?”
This question was quickly an
swered when I looked around at
the other people observing the
proceedings. Clearly the Black
parents bear the brunt of the
responsibility for their young
people being highly incarcerated.
When I was a child, if I had
brought something strange into the
house I had better be able to tell
my parents where it came from. If
I could not give a credible story to
explain how this strange object
came into my possession, 1 got a
whipping.
Furthermore, my parents would
get the truth out of me and the
object was returned to its rightful
owner.
We thought at the time our
parents were too strict, yet we
never got into trouble with the law
for stealing. Looking back on my
parents’ policies, 1 give thanks that
they were really interested enough
in their children to see that we
didn’t start a life of crime.
However, I can remember my
oldest brother getting my father
hauled down to court because he
Christian values
must be maintained
Two well-known entertainers
and an expert in black family
studies told more than 1,200
Atlanta teens that if the Black
family is to survive, basic family
traditions and Christian values
must be maintained.
Entertainers Marilyn McCoo
and husband, Billy Davis Jr., and
Dr. Wade Nobles, director of the
Institute of Advanced
Studies—Black Family Life and
Culture in Oakland, Cal were
keynote speakers for a two day
national parenting conference
sponsored by SCLC/WOMEN.
The theme of the sth annual con
ference was “The Survival of the
Black Family in the Eighties: The
Wheels of Parenting.”
Dr. Nobles said on the first day
of the conference that the history'
of the Black family has been
distorted over the years. “There
has been a premeditated attempt to
falsify the history of the black
family. Power is the ability to
define reality. The empowerment
of Black people is to define our
reality for ourselves.”
Nobles said he’s disturbed at the
growing rate of single-parent
families amonp nt?-jre “We can’t
allow single-parent households to
continue to eat us up “The law
must be changed to keep us
together,” he said referring to laws
in many states that require the
male head-of-household to leave
home before his wife and children
can qualify for public assistance
money. That was on the books in
Georgia until the most recent
session of the general assembly.
Nobles went on the advocate
that Black families go back to the
“old ways” of family reunions,
backyard bar-b-ques and other
had done something stupid and he’
knew he would have to undergo
Papa’s wrath. I can still hear my
father’s comments when he came
home. He said, “I told that judge
if he sent that boy home I was
going to whip him.” Papa kept his
word and he never had to go to
court again for childhood
foolishness.
My father’s actions do offer
some guidance on what might help
to stem some of the crime
problems currently plaguing the
Black community.
Dad was infuriated that he had
to lose a day’s wages over my
brother’s foolishness. He took
immediate action to see that he
didn’t have to repeat this experien
ce. Father further demonstrated
accountability for his child’s ac
tions.
I feel the ultra-liberals have sold
the Black community a bill of
goods whereby they have gotten
many Blacks believing my father’s
actions are extraordinary.
These liberals created the
illusion that all Blacks were
culturally deprived so their parents
are not expected to act in the best
interest of their children. This
kind of thinking only serves the
best interest of these same liberals
because if Blacks stay uneducated
or untrained this is an excellent
barrier to their threatening the
liberals jobs in the economic main
stream.
I also feel that the public school
teachers should have the authority
to dole out corporal punishment
without fear of major legal cases.
The Black poverty custodians
are probably crying, Don’t let no
white person strike your child
because theu will not issue the
punishment equitably.” I believe
in some cases they will be right.
However, we are looking at the
opportunity to hopefully save
many of our future Black
generations from incarceration. I
opt for the good spankings where
they are needed.
My feelings can be summed up
in three statements: Blacks with
no self esteem means dollars in the
pockets of the poverty pimps.
Ignorant Blacks insure job security
for the super liberals. Intelligent
Blacks means Black heirs to the
American bounty.
Will Black America accept the
challenge of the future or will they
remain the laughingstock of the
nation because their family struc
ture is on the verge of imminent
collapse?
traditional values that are basic to
the African-American culture.
On day two of the conference,
the teens were told how to make
marriages and other valued
relationships work by nationally
known entertainers, Marilyn
McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.
“You have to be friends and
learn one another,” said McCoo,
who is seen weekly on television’s
syndicated Solid Gold program.
You have to take marriage
seriously and not go into it saying.
“Well, if it doesn’t work out I’ll
get a divorce,’ you won’t be giving
your marriage a chance if you ap
proach it in that way,” McCoo
said.
McCoo and Davis have been
married to each other for 15 years
but they said until they were ‘born
again’ as Christians about 3 years
ago, “there was a boid” in their
lives.
“We had the social side, and the
business side,” said Davis, “but
until we had the spiritual side, our
marriage was not complete.”
The couple spoke to the group
for more than an hour and fielded
questions from the students that
they both said really made them
“dig for the answers.”
McCoo and Davis were the
special guests for the Drum Major
for Justice Awards Dinner that
was also part of the Martin Luther
King Memorial Observance Week
sponsored by the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference.
However, Davis said, “We really
wanted to come talk with these
kids more than anything because
we feel it’s so important to share
our experiences and try to help
them become better adults.”